Plot:

Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape.

That’s how it started: looking round houses she couldn’t possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn’t.

Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead.

And everyone thinks Vanessa killed him…

Review:

I disagree with the main character A-LOT however given how this was written, I did quite enjoy it!

Vanessa Adams is a 32-year-old singleton with a good job at beauty company Luna London. She shares a flat with Lottie, her best friend from university. They live a carefree life though when Vanessa meets Conor, changes are soon on the horizon.

Some Icks with their relationship:

⁃ Using the words ‘baby’ ‘making love’ just ew.

⁃ Not using your eyes of right in front of you when someone is clearly trying to manipulate you.

⁃ Falling for the littlest things of mind control such as the obsessions and moving in so fast.

⁃ IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TOO FAST LIKE RELATIONSHIPS that MOVE WAY TOO FAST then run, male or female just run because there are clearly red flags if you or the other person moves too fast in an early relationship…

When things become stressful in her life Vanessa copes by pretending to be someone else. Recently as cracks begin to show in her relationship with Conor (which of course they did, else this novel would be a fluffy romance), she’s started looking around houses that are way out of her price range. It seems like harmless fun – until it wasn’t. She went a bit extreme with the whole range of identities and different personas.

When she sees a listing for the home of children’s author, Geoffrey Rivers, whose books were important to her childhood, she feels compelled to view it. Yet then there’s a body and Vanessa is the police’s prime suspect!

No further details to avoid spoilers but will say that it was deliciously twisty. The chapters are divided between ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ and a picture develops of the stresses underlying Vanessa’s relationships in the past and present.

Overall, ‘The Perfect Life’ proved a very readable psychological thriller, the kind that once started was very hard to put down. Great for audio listening when doing errands or tedious tasks at work in the background to keep you interested.

4/5 stars